Not too long ago, it was announced that the county was making sure that there was an American flag flying outside the courthouse, even as construction continued on the new memorial area and new flag poles were being installed.
County Administrator Richard Boeckman reported earlier that Mike Gilbert, who helps take care of the courthouse, took a ladder out, replaced a pulley and put on a new rope on the old flag pole north of the Civil War monument so that it could be put back to use.
The pole had been out of use for several years, it was observed.
That was used as the county’s flag pole during the remainder of the construction project. When the front of the courthouse was reopened, it was complete with the new pair of poles, one for the American flag and one for the Kansas state flag. Both are lighted as part of the specially-designed lighting for the Jack Kilby monument.
And now there’s a new flag flying at the monument, one that reflects on this 150th year of Kansas statehood.
Boeckman explained that recently County Commissioner John Edmonds suggested to him that there are sources for reproductions of all of the historic American flags and that it would be appropriate to fly one from the close of the war that the monument recognizes, so a reproduction of an 1865 flag was purchased and now flies on the pole associated with the Grand Army of the Republic memorial.
The flag has 36 stars — Kansas was the 34th star when it became a state at the beginning of the Civil War. During the war, West Virginia was added in 1863, and Nevada in 1864 was the 36th star.
The county administrator commented that the historic flag does suit the Union infantryman who is depicted in the monument. “If you walk by there ... it does have a nice look to it,” he said.
The United States Flag Code designs how the flag is to be treated and cared for and it stipulates that the official American flag has 50 stars now, however the same rules that pertain to a current flag are also observed in reference to a “historic flag,” which continues to be due the same honor as today’s version.